The highly anticipated ATI PowerCone protein skimmers will be introduced this weekend at MACNA by USA distributor and 3reef Sponsor ReefGeek! These monsters should draw big crowds with their sleek design and great prices for the power. Did someone say power? How about 3000+ liters of air per hour while drawing only 35 watts!?! The high volume of air is made possible by an improved air intake and an innovative Grid-wheel impeller that combines the strength of a needle-wheel with the performance of a mesh-wheel.



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Attached Files

ATI PowerCone - Detailed Product Sheets.pdf (333.9 KB, 8 views)

Press Release - PowerCone Skimmer from ATI.pdf (322.6 KB, 3 views)

Dymax just joined 3reef and let us know about their new site and taking a look I noticed that the coolest pico around - the Dymax IQ3 - is now available in a few different colors and I immediately noticed the nice new lid. Something I will order from Big Al right away as I was going to make one for mine at the office. Theirs is a lot nicer. Welcome to 3reef Dymax and thanks for letting us know about the latest.


Dymax's new site and new lid for the IQ3 pico
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The following warning applies to the NAC6 skimmer with the Atman 2500 pump but may apply to other Bubble Magus protein skimmers with Atman pumps. Caution should be taken when assembling and cleaning these skimmers, particularly when screwing the air intake on to the impeller cover. The impeller cover is the Achilles Heel of the NAC6. The threaded shaft on the cover is less than 1/16" thick plastic. It actually expands when the air intake is screwed into it. The instructions state not to screw the air intake more than 2 turns into the cover. There is a reason. The shaft will crack.


A stress fracture already present
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Some of Hawaii's coral reefs are not what they used to be due in part to agricultural runoff, silt, and invasive species. But a recent experiment conducted by Biologists produced results that exceeded their expectations. At a test patch in Kaneohe Bay, divers used a vacuum to remove non-native algae and then released 1,200 native collector urchins (Tripneustes gratilla) on half the patch. What they discovered was that very little algae grew back on the urchin side. The non-urchin side grew back thicker than before.


Native Collector Urchins being released to combat invasive algae - Photo Credit: DLNR, Tony Montgomery

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A small team of University of Arizona students have been tasked recently with figuring out why 11 of 47 fish species introduced into the 700,000 gallon 'ocean' within Biosphere 2 have survived years of neglect. Biosphere 2, a large experiment in self-sustainment that grabbed headlines back in the day has since had several owners and had fallen on hard times until the University acquired it. I actually took a tour of the place back in 2003. I was excited about the 'ocean' and it was breathtaking from above but what I saw below the waterline was shocking:


The 'Ocean' in Biosphere 2 circa November 2003

This was one large tank
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The new Reef Capable LED lamps from Marineland will be hitting the shelves in October and are an honest effort to address the reef crowd with more power than the earlier Double Bright and Single Bright LED lamps. Inside the new finned heatsink cover are 10k 1 watt daylight LEDs and 460nm 1 watt blue LEDs - up from the .6 watt blues we saw earlier in the prototype.



Marineland is even posting PAR numbers on the box:

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